The first smartphones using the open-source Tizen OS could be unveiled as early as February and hit the market by March.
Handsets running the OS could be unveiled at Mobile World Congress next month, sources close to the development toldtheMainichi.
An NTT DoCoMo spokesperson also toldAgence France-Presse that Tizen handsets are expected to be on sale from the end of March.
The OS - an initiative of companies including Samsung, Intel, Huawei, NTT DoCoMo and Fujitsu - is designed to be an entirely open-source OS.
Tizen's backers are hoping that the added customization this offers will set it apart from Android - which has some proprietary components – in the eyes of mobile operators.
But with multiple operating systems vying to become the “third platform” to rival Android and iOS, gaining suitable market traction could be a challenge.
Samsung and Intel commenced the Tizen project in late 2011, with Intel jumping ship from the abandoned MeeGo project to the new OS.